Quick Dips

Hungry Microbes

Bioremediation -- using bacteria to turn toxic wastes into harmless by-products such as water or carbon dioxide -- holds hope for fighting pollution effectively.

Finding just the right microbe, or combination of microbes, with an appetite for the chemical you want to dispose of, with just the right comfort zone to do the job on site needs extensive research. Such research is taking place at Landcare's new microbiology laboratory at Waikato University.

Dr Gareth Lloyd-Jones's specialty is molecular biology, looking at the genetic make-up of micro-organisms to solve the problem of how the bacteria do their work, why they sometimes don't and how to predict when they are going to down tools. The microbes need a variety of nutrients, water and just the right mix of temperature and acidity to do the job.

He has been studying the degradation of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at Bangor University in his native Wales -- work which he is keen to continue in investigating New Zealand's related PCP problem. The work includes cloning genes from a bacteria that works on PCPs and comparing sites across the country for variations in the gene that could affect how it works.

"We see bioremediation as going hand in hand with other options. It is not a final solution and can be used in conjunction with other means," says Lloyd-Jones. "The major problem is bridging the gap between microbiologists and engineers. Engineers want something that works all the time and microbiologists can't guarantee a product that will work every time. We want more insight into how to better control the results."

Dr Jackie Aislabie, of Landcare Research, will be collaborating with colleagues at the University of Alberta on research into removal of the contaminant carbazole, studying the use of biological agents to repair the damage caused by toxic wastes and other contaminants in soil and water.

She says people are becoming more informed and more aware of the importance of the work.

"There is a realisation that the ultimate fate of many pollutants is determined by microbial activity. In New Zealand there is a growing realisation that ground water is being contaminated by burying wastes out of sight, out of mind. Something has got to be done about it because the problem doesn't go away."